The invention relates to new chemical compounds. In particular it relates to poly(imide)-containing polymeric materials made from 3,3-disubstituted-furandione derivatives which have been either homopolymerized or copolymerized.
In the prior art poly(imide)-containing polymers have been limited to those formed from an aromatic anhydride-containing compound containing a fused anhydride moiety, i.e., compounds having the anhydride functionality joined to an aromatic nucleus by covalent bonds to two adjacent carbons of a benzene ring. In contrast, the anhydride functionality in the precursors of the instant invented polymers is attached to the remainder of the molecule by one carbon of the cyclic five-membered anhydride moiety.
Furthermore, the imide ring moiety of the instant invented polymers has been found to be stabilized by reason of an alkyl or phenyl substituent attached at the same carbon atom through which the imide ring moiety joins the remainder of the polymer. The presence of this stabilizing alkyl or phenyl moiety has also been found to impart added stability to the imide ring moiety imparting to the invented polymers improved properties such as improved glass transition temperature and increased flexibility of objects formed from the invented polymers.